Griot's In-line Water Softener??

L

les017

New member
Has anyone used Griot's Water Softener



I DO imagine it works as advertised, but I am curious as to it's longevity. They claim that 80 washes should be expected on average but could be as few as 40 in the worst water areas. I had been debating with myself to get this or not and before I could get on here and ask some questions, my wife must have gotten tired of hearing about it and went and ordered one.

According to her "even if it doesn't work and you can't return it, the $130 will be worth it for the silence". And trust me, drying my '04 Black/Black F150 SCab is a LOT of work here in the San Gabriel Valley. I am pretty much relegated to washing the truck @ 0500 or starting 40 minutes before the sun goes down. :think:



So I am interested if anyone has tried this product, or others like it, and what you think of it.



Thanks upfront
 
I have a similar one although it's not inline from pwgazette.com and it works well. It seems more economical for both the filter setup and the cartridges.
 
The Griot's filter system definitely seems overpriced when you add in the cost of the replacement filters.



If you do have hard water, I would recommend you first try a soft water filter system similar to this http://www.bojifilters.com/. It uses a resin based filter that can be regenerated with a brine solution. Water softener salt is relatively cheap to replace.



This water softener alone provides me with about a 90% decrease in water spotting when drying my black Audi vs. my standard tap water.
 
Since you are talking about a considerable amount of money to wash you car, you may want to consider getting a TDS (total dissolved solids) meter, about $15-20 on ebay. This way you can measure the effectiveness of the filter and when it's stops doing it's magic, takes the guess work out of the equation. Also with the meter you can verify their advertised claims, hold them to it. Also, what are you expecting? If you have 400-600 TDS water, would you expect a small filter like that to bring it to zero so you get zero water spots, you maybe dissapointed but you won't know until you try.
 
truzoom said:
Doesn't the Mr Clean autodry have a filter to soften the rinse water? Would that work the same but cost less?
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Well yeah, if the unit wasn't suck a cheap POS. It will buy you some time to get your car into the shade so you can dry it, but the filters don't fit properly into the unit and some unfiltered water leaks out of the bottom of the gun.
 
thanks for all the replies! I think I will get the TDS, just for curiosity if nothing else. As for the filter I am not expecting any miracles but I am expecting a fair amount of help.

But I guess I am gonna be the guinea pig for this specific filter from Griot.

In that case I will get the TDS and will try to do a bit of a write up as to how it performs for me.



thanks again...



Evan
 
I am going to buy a TDS... I have the pwgazette.com set up and it works quite well for me. My water is so hard it's barely a liquid.... gotta love Indiana limestone...
 
I cannot believe that the CR Spotless system has not been mentioned yet. I hvae been using mine for about 2 months and it works. Wash the car, rinse, and walk away. No need to dry at all.



I called Griots about their system and all they will say is that it REDUCES the need to dry. The CR Spotless system eliminates the need to dry. You see, softened water is not de-ionized water. By de-ionizing, the water is cleaned of the minerals that cause the spotting. Softened water does not.
 
Matt M said:
I cannot believe that the CR Spotless system has not been mentioned yet. I hvae been using mine for about 2 months and it works. Wash the car, rinse, and walk away. No need to dry at all.



I called Griots about their system and all they will say is that it REDUCES the need to dry. The CR Spotless system eliminates the need to dry. You see, softened water is not de-ionized water. By de-ionizing, the water is cleaned of the minerals that cause the spotting. Softened water does not.
Click to expand...



The upfront cost of the CR system is probably the biggest turnoff for most weekend car washers. I'm not saying it doesn't work. I've got the impression that most who have it are quite satisfied. But, for a relatively smaller overall cost (resin-based filter + salt), I would recommend most people at least try a water softening system first. Then, if they're still not completely satisfied with the softener's results they could step up to a DI system.



I use a softener system to rinse and then follow with a leaf blower and it is at least a 90% improvement in reduced spotting compared to my hard tap water.



Matt is correct to point out the differences between the Griot filter and the CR system. I definitely think the Griot system is overpriced compared to a resin-based softener system, though.
 
I recall some discussion about using a filter like mine in conjunction with the CR system. What signifcance, if any , that would make :nixweiss
 
Bill D--

The ultimate output quality of your DI water will be based on your input water's current state (pH, total dissolved solids, etc.). Ironically, softened water will not extend the life of a DI filter system because you are merely replacing Ca/Mg ions with sodium and the TDS essentially remains constant.



Edit: corrected misinformation
 
My water isn't particularly hard, ( can see bubbles and soap suds do hold up regularly) , rather, it's mineral ridden, I think Gene from the filter website said there might by a lot of sodium in my water.



I've use my filter and it doesn't really provide spot free water, rather water closer to the kind I used to have where I used to live.
 
I've noticed my water and the water around this area doesn't allow for good suds or longevity of the actual soap. Is there any way to check the status of my water? I know the TDS meter, but pH / hardness / minerals, can they be measured and tested to a degree?
 
SilvaBimma said:
I've noticed my water and the water around this area doesn't allow for good suds or longevity of the actual soap. Is there any way to check the status of my water? I know the TDS meter, but pH / hardness / minerals, can they be measured and tested to a degree?
Click to expand...



Sure, there are do-it-yourself kits you can get from a pet supply store like for an aquarium. A spa/pool supply store should have test kits, too. I'm sure water testing would be under your local yellow pages if you were to go that route. You might check with your local municipal water authority in your city for more info.



Here is a link to a test kit that does most of what you want for $19.95. http://www.watersafetestkits.com/html/drinkingkits.asp
 
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